A polling outfit whose numbers were cited by major news outlets and campaigns this election season has admitted it made its data up, and the federal official who oversees broadcasters is now warning that airing fake polls could put station licenses at risk.

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From Fox News:

Wedgewood Polling, which billed itself as an election survey company, released a statement Tuesday night admitting it used “fabricated numbers” for an “experimental project to demonstrate the vulnerabilities, lack of oversight, and overall low barrier to entry in the modern political polling industry.”

The group’s polls were cited by Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign amid a high-profile primary race against Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich. The nonpartisan polling aggregator Political Polls also cited Wedgewood in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, showing socialist Francesca Hong having an edge over Republican candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis.

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Wedgewood’s numbers were cited by high-profile outlets like The New York Times and Decision Desk HQ, which both said they have since removed them from their projections.

The damage was real. McMorrow said the bogus numbers dried up her donations and brought calls from reporters urging her to quit the race. A Democratic strategist who ran a super PAC backing her said donors pulled funding based on the poll. The Times said it pulled 15 Wedgewood polls released between June and October, even though the firm had answered its vetting questions about methods and funding. Decision Desk HQ removed 17. Other Wedgewood surveys showed Democrats with large leads in states including Texas. The independent outlet FiftyPlusOne said it was preparing to publish findings that Wedgewood was faking data and accused the group of using the “experiment” explanation to cover up fraud.

On Oct. 21, one day after Wedgewood’s admission, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned that broadcasters could violate their federal licenses by airing fake polls or “Suppression Polls” meant to disrupt elections, The Epoch Times reported. Carr said there had been a surge of such polls this season, designed to change voter turnout and enthusiasm, and that many journalists and broadcasters had amplified them without telling the public they lacked a real basis. He reminded stations that their licenses prohibit news distortion and broadcast hoaxes. Carr did not name Wedgewood or any specific outlet.

Polls do more than measure elections. They shape which candidates get money, which ones the media treats as serious, and whether voters think their ballot matters. Whatever Wedgewood’s motives, its fake numbers deceived donors, reporters, and voters for months. Scripture is plain: “You shall not spread a false report” (Exodus 23:1).

Let’s pray that every fake poll and false report shaping this election would be exposed before Nov. 3. Let’s pray for Chairman Carr and FCC officials, that they would hold broadcasters accountable with wisdom and within the law. Let’s pray that journalists and news outlets would repent of chasing drama over truth and would verify what they report. And let’s pray that Americans would not be manipulated by false numbers, but would vote their convictions and trust God, not the polls, with the outcome.

How are you praying for truth in this election season? Share your prayers and scriptures in the comments.

(Excerpt from Fox News. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Brendan Carr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66914916)